The Beijing Forum on Human Rights opened on Monday. More than 100 officials, scholars and researchers from over 30 countries and international organizations attended the forum, which was organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies. The theme of the forum is "Development, Security and Human Rights".

Luo Haocai,President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies

President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, Luo Haocai, delivered the welcoming speech at the opening ceremony of the forum. He said, "The right to development is an inalienable human right. Every person and every country has the right to pursue development and enjoy its fruits."

He said, "Today, dozens of the least developed countries have still to join the global development process; more than one billion people suffer from persistent malnutrition and poverty; every year 11 million children die before the age of five and three million people die of AIDS. For these people, the right to development is of primary importance."

"Likewise, security is also a fundamental human right. Security means a state of existence free from fear. Everyone has the right to live peacefully and safely. Threats to peace and security come not only from international wars and conflicts but also from domestic violence, organized crime, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Poverty, deadly infectious diseases and environmental degradation also severely threaten people’s security. It has long been a shared aspiration and a human rights objective of the international community to eliminate these threats and safeguard peace and security," Luo said.